Perfect
by jessmerrick
Summary: When Joan enlists the aid of Luke, an everday routine of 'look after the sick person' turns out to be far more serious than he first thought....
1. One

- Notes: Thanks to Athena for helping me with the summary. I was having trouble there lol! Didn't want to give too much away... -

Luke Girardi growled as his sister pushed past him and ran in to the bathroom, locking the door. He sighed, and went downstairs in search of breakfast instead. "Morning," he said as he re-fastened his robe and then headed for the fridge.

His father looked up from the paper and frowned, "Morning Luke. Why aren't you dressed?" Luke was always dressed before breakfast recently, perhaps because he wanted to see a certain young lady before school.

"Oh Joan beat me to the bathroom," He replied, taking a carton of milk from the fridge and scanning the shelf for his favourite cereal. "She pushed me out of the way, can you believe that?"

"Your mother has to go to the doctors this afternoon," Will informed him, tossing the paper on to the table. "So she won't be able to give you a ride later."

Luke nodded and sat down at the table, digging in to his cheerios. "Right – is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's just feeling a little under the weather, that's all. Nothing to worry about," he assured him. "Is Kevin up yet?"

"Don't know," Luke shrugged. "He ate the last of my cereal. So I need to walk to home? Joan has something after school...I can walk by myself. That's fine."

"No I don't," Joan replied as she entered the kitchen, clad in purple jeans and her favourite shirt. "Dad, does this look okay?"

"Yes pumpkin," he nodded. "Looks fine."

"Sure?"

"Yes," he nodded again.

"I thought you were going out with..." Luke began. She had been talking about her plans for Friday evening all week.

"Nope," she shook her head, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl. "So I have to walk you home?"

"Have to?" Luke said, offended. "You don't have to. It's just Mom and Dad prefer us to walk home together."

"Yes, we do," Will confirmed. "There's a very dangerous criminal on the lose. I want you guys sticking together."

"Will do," Joan nodded coolly. "Besides, we can chat."

"Okay," Luke frowned - weird change of tune.

"Luke, go and take a shower. We're going to be late," Joan told him, looking at her watch.

"I would be dressed if you hadn't hogged the bathroom," he told her, rolling his eyes. He stood up, and went to put the bowl in the sink, but Joan took it from him. He went off to have his shower, wondering what was up with his sister now.

When he came back downstairs, he found her watching the t.v. in the living room. "Joan, let's go," he called, grabbing his bag.

She jumped up, took her bag from the closet and followed him out of the door. She still held the apple in her hand. "Are you actually planning to eat that?" Luke asked her a few minutes later, as they walked. She ignored him and put it in her bag. "So, what happened to your plans with...whats her name...Allie?"

"Just got cancelled that's all," His sister replied. "What you doing this weekend?"

"Umm, just hanging with Friedman," He sighed. "You?"

"Adam and I are going to see a black and white movie," She laughed. "He likes them, and I finally said I'd go again. They aren't so bad, although I'd prefer to see a colour movie with...I don't know...Tobey Maguire in it. Someone from this century!"

"Don't you think his neighbour in Spiderman 2 looks a lot like Glynis?" Luke thought.

"Glynis? Maybe. Didn't notice," Joan said. "Meet me on the front steps at 3. Don't be late.

-

Joan stared at her tray, as she had been doing for five minutes now. She obviously had a grudge against broccoli.

"Jane," Adam called for the fifth time, "Jane!"

Joan snapped back to reality, and smiled. "Sorry?"

"Never mind," he said, shaking his head. "Sorry Luke, what were you saying?"

"It doesn't matter," Luke sighed. He was used to being ignored. "I was just asking if you'd seen Grace."

"Nope," Joan shrugged. "I think she must be sick."

"Yeah, she is. She said she was coming down with the flu or something yesterday," Rove nodded. "Everyone has it – Mrs Girardi, Grace, Lisa."

"Maybe I should take her some soup," Luke said, more to himself than her sister or her boyfriend.

"Soup? Grace?" Joan laughed. Her brother could be so sweet. "Luke that's really sweet, but I don't think Grace is a bring-me-soup kinda gal. That's more...Glynis."

"You're right," he said. "Dumb idea."

The bell rang, and Adam groaned. He hadn't finished his meal yet - he'd been too busy trying to wake Joan up from her daydream. "Later," he said to Luke, before picking up his tray and walking off. Joan smiled to her brother and then did the same, except hers was almost completely full.

They ended up spending most of the afternoon together in AP Chemistry, so when it turned 3pm, they were ready to go straight home. Joan kissed Rove goodbye, and then walked up to Luke, who was still chatting with Friedman. "Ready to go?"

"Yep," Luke nodded. "See you tomorrow," he told Friedman, grabbing his bag and standing up. "Let's go home."

-

"What is that noise?" Luke frowned, as they walked along. "Sounds like a very faint growl."

"I don't know," she replied. "Maybe it's a dog or a lawnmower."

"That's you. Your stomach is growling really loud," he whispered. "Have you got mom's virus or something? Wait, I really don't want to know."

"Actually I do have the sniffles," she nodded. "Maybe it's the flu."

"Stay away from me," he warned, moving off slightly. "I've managed to avoid it. I thought we all had."

"Except for Kevin," Joan reminded him. "Poor guy was in bed for like a a week and a half."

Luke nodded, "Do you still need my help with the Chem assignment?"

"No, I think I've actually got it figured out, but thanks," she said proudly. "I knew I could do it eventually. It just looked so complicated."

"I thought you'd be able to do it," he admitted. "I mean, it's pretty easy."

"Thanks," she smiled. They didn't usually talk like this, and being the smarter one, Luke would usually (lovingly) poke fun at her. Of course, him being the smarter one, she often poked fun at him. It worked both ways.

The walk seemed fairly short to Joan today, perhaps because they'd been chatting the whole way. She was quite surprised when they walked up the drive. Luke took out his key and unlocked the door. She went inside and took her shoes off. He followed her in and then locked the door. "Do you want to zap us some popcorn?" She suggested, as she dived on to the couch.

"Okay," he nodded, slipping his shoes off. "Please do not put MTV on."

"As long as you don't put the History, Science or Discovery channel on," She bargained. He agreed, and she flicked through the channels, attempting to find something they could both watch.

She landed on **The Simpsons**. The whole family loved that show, especially her and Luke. "Hey, it's a new one!" she called to him. He appeared a couple of minutes later with a bowl of popcorn and a coke. "Didn't offer me one."

"Get it yourself," he replied, taking a handful of popcorn. He'd done his part. She could get her own soda!

She took some popcorn, and then put the bowl next to her on the sofa. He watched as she ate a lot more than her half of the bowl in ten minutes flat. "Leave some for me, will you?" He frowned. "Geez you could eat for the olympics."

Joan glared at him and picked the bowl up, taking it upstairs with her.

Once the show had finished, he headed upstairs to apologise. He felt like a complete jerk for making that comment, but she'd eaten most of his share!

When he reached the top of the stairs, he found that she wasn't in her room. "Joan?" He called. "Joan?" He ventured further down the hall, until he reached the bathroom. The door was closed, but not locked. She always locked the door. He knocked on the door three times, and then opened it when he got no response.

He walked in and saw his sister sat in the corner of the room, leaning against the bath, hugging her knees. "You've been sick?" He asked, sliding down to sit beside her. She nodded, and wiped her eyes. He nodded, and put his arm around her. "Why don't we get you in to bed?"

Joan sniffed, and he helped her up. "I remember the flu. It's awful." He helped her to her room, and she dove under the covers, reaching for her favourite old teddy bear, who was sat on the windowsill. Luke went over to the window and opened it, and then handed her the bear. "Uh...do you want a drink or something?"

"Please," she croaked. "I'm not too bad...you should just go back downstairs and watch t.v."

"I will once I bring you a drink," he replied, heading for the door. "I'll call Dad at the station."

"No, don't bother him," she shook her head. "I'll live. Mom will be home soon. Besides, I have Nurse Luke here don't I?"

"Okay," he sighed. "Back in a minute. Oh, Joan?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for saying you could eat for the Olympics. I'm such a jerk," He apologised. Joan smiled slightly, showing that she forgave him.

He returned to find her propped up in bed, watching television. "Here you go," he said, placing the glass on her bedside table. "Hey, look on the bright side Joan, you get to miss days and days of school."

"Yeah I bet you hated that when you were sick," she said with a smile. "Thanks for the water. Wait...is there sugar in this?"

"Dad always gives me sugar water when I'm sick. Apparently Grandma used to give it to him," He shrugged, perching on the end of the bed. "Ooh, Led Zeppelin."

"Yes, there's all sorts of music on this channel," Joan said, sipping at the water. "Everything from White Stripes to Linkin Park and even Ozzy."

"Cool." When the track had finished, Luke closed the door and left her in peace.

Once he was gone, Joan kicked off the bed covers and drank the whole of the sugar water. She then got up and rummaged through her handbag, looking for the candy bar she'd bought the day before.


	2. Two

Joan Girardi put on her dressing gown and slippers and headed downstairs to get a drink.

"Joan, you should be in bed," Luke said, as he came out of his room. "You do look better..."

"I think it was the 24 hour bug that Grace had," she shrugged. Luke nodded. "Oh, by the way, thanks for looking after me. You're not so bad."

He nodded again, and smiled, and then disappeared in to the bathroom. Joan found her mother, her older brother Kevin, and her father sat around the table in the kitchen, eating pancakes. "Morning sweetie," Helen said, getting up to get Joan some breakfast.

"Morning," she smiled. "I feel a bit better today. I'll just get a drink and then get dressed."

"Can you manage some pancakes?" Her mother asked, feeling her forhead. "You don't feel warm."

"24 hour I think," Joan said, taking a glass from the cupboard. "But I don't want to risk breakfast just yet."

"Okay," Helen said, sitting down. "Well you'll let me know if you want something?"

"Will do," she agreed. She took her glass of ice water and went in to the lounge to watch t.v.

Soon, she heard Luke coming down the stairs and looked over to him, "Hey, geek, is it today you're going out with Friedman?"

"Yeah, but not until after lunch," He replied, sitting down beside her. He took off his glasses and removed a cloth from his pocket, deciding he needed to clean them. "Mom and Dad are going to that fundraiser thing today. Something to do with the police for him."

"Lucky them," she laughed. "Sounds incredibly dull. Is Kevin staying home?"

"No, he's going to meet up with some friends too," He replied. "So it's just you home alone."

"Cool," Joan said, "It'll give me some peace and quiet."

"Although Friedman and I might end up coming back here later on," He thought.

"Whatever."

"I'm going to go get breakfast," He said, putting his glasses back on. "Later."

-

Joan was still sprawled over the couch when Luke and Friedman came in several hours later, and even an hour after that when Luke came down for a drink. "Joan, I'm getting some soda. Want anything?" He asked, figuring as she was still sick that he should take pity on her.

"No, I'm good thanks," she sighed, changing the channel. "Nothing on."

"Never is," he shrugged. "Have you had anything to eat today? You should try and have something plain, like toast."

"I'll have some popcorn if it will make you happy, Luke," she smiled. He nodded, and went in to the kitchen. He returned a couple of minutes later with a tray. He put it down on the table, unloaded the popcorn and then picked the tray up again, heading off upstairs. "Thanks."

She found a channel showing Buffy The Vampire Slayer and grinned, setting down the remote. She used to love that show. "Mmmm, Spike."

It was nice just lying on the couch, doing nothing. Usually she was uber busy at the weekends, going out with Adam or Grace. Adam! She sighed and stood up, walking over to the phone. She dialled Adam's number, and waited as it rang.

"Hey, Adam, it's Joan. Hey. Yeah, so I'm really sorry but I had the 24 hour flu. Yeah. I feel better now, but it's best I stay home today. I don't think my mom would like me going out. No, I feel fine. Honest. But I'll just hang here. Maybe we could go see the movie tomorrow instead? No, don't say don't worry. I want to go. Honestly. Yes. Thank you for being so sweet. Yeah, I will. See you later. Bye."

He was such a good boyfriend, she thought, as she dived back under her blanket.

- Sunday -

"Joan!" Luke called, knocking on her bedroom door. "Joan!" Finally, he gave up and entered, finding her fast asleep. He called her name again. "Joan!"

Joan yawned, and sat up, glaring at him. "What?"

"Adam Rove is on the phone," He replied, chucking the phone to her. "I thought you'd want to be woken up."

"Oh. Right. Thanks," she yawned again, picking up the phone and then motioning for her brother to leave. "Hey Adam. Yeah, you know what, I do feel much better. I think I'm officially fine. Cool, I'll see you at 5 then. Bye."

She got out of bed and took a shower, got dressed and then ran down the stairs. Her family were all sat in the lounge, looking surprised to see her dressed. She smiled, and jumped down the last step. "Morning."

"You're feeling better," Will grinned. "That's good. I assume that was Adam on the phone?"

"Yep. We're going to see this really, really old movie later," she explained. "I cancelled on him yesterday."

"Is your homework all done?" He asked.

"No...but I've been sick. I'll do it before I go, I promise," She assured him. "Mom, could you make me some pancakes please, as I missed out yesterday?"

-

After her very late breakfast, Joan headed upstairs for a while. Luke was sat studying in the living room, and Helen, Will and Kevin had gone to do the shopping. "Hey, Joan, Dad gave me money for a pizza. What top..." he stopped as he reached the top of the stairs, and saw Joan in her room, doing what appeared to be sit ups. "Sit ups?"

"Yeah, they help me calm down when I'm nervous," She replied.

"Oh. What are you nervous about? I'm the one who has a test tomorrow," he frowned.

"Which you will do fine on," she told him, shaking her head. He was like...a genius! "I'm just worried about math is all. I'm not doing very well."

"Are you going to be a great mathematician?" Luke smiled.

"Nope."

"Then don't worry about math. You've got more of a talent for English," and he walked off. "Oh wait...pizza topping?"

"Tuna and sweetcorn on my bit," She said, standing up. "So was that Grace you were talking to on the phone earlier?"

"No. It was Glynis, panicking about this test we have tomorrow. It was weird, she doesn't panic like that, ever."

"Everyone panics, they just don't show it," She shrugged. "I didn't think you and Glynis were really talking much, at the moment."

"No, we are. It's just...weird," He sighed. "I'll go order the pizza. If I get it now, it should arrive just before everyone gets home."

"Ok."

- Monday -

Luke hummed to himself as he jogged up the stairs, in search of the hairbrush. He was about to go out and meet Friedman to watch a new Discovery Channel special.

His search took him to the bathroom, but the door was closed. "Joan, have you seen my hairbrush?" He got no reply. "Joan?" He sighed and crossed his arms. He couldn't go out with his hair a total mess. He frowned as he heard heaving. She was being sick again. He knocked on the door, "Joan, are you decent? Joan! Joan!"

"Get lost," she called, her voice croaky again.

"Joan, I'm coming in so you'd better be decent!" He sighed, taking a deep breath and opening the door. He found her exactly as he expected too, sat barfing her guts out. He moved forward, and moved her hair out of the way. He rubbed her back, as his mother had often done with him, and shook his head. This was weird, looking after his sister as she threw up. It was mom's job, or dad's. But he didn't really mind doing it – he was just worried about her.

Finally, she sat back and wiped her mouth. Her eyes were bright red. He left her for a second to find a glass, and filled it up with tap water. She washed her mouth out a couple of times.

She looked at him sadly, and then leant forward, wrapping her arms around him. A weird week this was turning out to be. He hugged her for a minute, and then let her go. He stood up, and held out his hand. "You should go to bed."

"I'd rather just sit on the couch," she sniffed. "And watch t.v."

"Okay," he agreed, helping her up. "I'll get you some bottled water."

"Thanks for holding my hair," she sniffed again, as they walked down the hall. "I thought I was over this."

"I told you not to go to school. Couldn't believe you actually wanted to go," Luke smiled. "I should have realised then that you said that because you have a fever. You should have taken it easy."

"I felt okay until about an hour ago," she said. "Maybe I'll stay off tomorrow. But only for a day. I felt fine most of today."

"Okay. Come on, let's get you set up on the couch," he said, and she put her hand on his arm as she walked along. "You feel dizzy?"

"No...just a little weak," she replied. "You were going out weren't you?"

"I'll call Friedman and cancel. Nobody will be home until about 8 tonight," Luke told her coolly.

"I'm not that sick. You can still go out," She assured him as she went down the stairs.

"I don't know, might be akward as Glynis was going too," He sighed.

"Okay," Joan nodded. "As long as it's not really me that's stopping you."

"You sit down, I'll go get you some water," he ordered, and she sat down on the couch, grabbing a cushion and snuggling up.

"Thanks bro."


	3. Three

Luke Girardi awoke to what was becoming a familiar sound in his household. He glanced over at the clock. 7am. His father, Will, would be downstairs reading the paper, his brother, Kevin would be dead to the world for half an hour yet, and his mother, Helen would be preparing the breakfast. His sister, one year older than him, would be in the bathroom, throwing up. She had the flu.

He yawned, and got up, stretching and then putting on his glasses. He left his room and went downstairs to get a drink for Joan. His Dad looked up from the paper, but his mom was too busy to notice him.

He arrived back upstairs to find Joan coming out of the bathroom. "Morning," she said, not unbrightly, which surprised him, and headed for her bedroom.

"Joan, here, drink this," he instructed her, handing her the glass. "You need to drink plenty."

"Okay," she nodded. "I'm feeling better every day, Luke. You don't need to keep taking care of me, although I have to say it's kind of nice."

"I'm going to get dressed. Take it easy. I wouldn't go to school if I were you," he frowned. "You should have been off all this week."

"Nah," she shrugged. "Lots of important stuff going on this week and next. I can't miss out."

"Okay," he said. "You should tell mom you're still sick."

"No," Joan replied, her voice raised slightly. "I mean, no, thank you Luke. I'm getting better, and I don't want to worry them. They have enough going on as it is. Same goes for Kevin."

"Joan, thoughtful as ever," He smiled, although he was getting more and more worried about her by the minute. "Alright. You'd better get dressed...I'd better get dressed. We do not want to be late."

Luke was sat at the table, chomping on a piece of toast when Joan finally appeared downstairs. She took a banana from the fruit bowl then went in to the lounge to wait for her brother.

When he'd finished, they started the walk to school. "Joan, you should try and eat that banana."

"I will."

"Now, please. For me, or I'll worry about you passing out for the rest of the day," He said.

"Fine," she shook her head, and unpeeled the banana. She ate it all, and then threw the skin into the bin. "There. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," he nodded. "You have to keep your strength up."

"You keep telling me that," she said. "Okay, so there is a new episode of The Simpsons on tonight. We must remember to watch it."

-

The day seemed to go on forever for Joan, and Luke too. He was really worried about his sister, so much so that he couldn't concentrate.

All through AP Chem, he kept looking back at her, making sure she was all right.

He made it a point to sit with her, Rove and Grace and lunch. He sat, bored, as she babbled away about something extremely unimportant, nodding every minute or so, to give the impression he was listening.

When the group disbanded, she glanced at him, smiling sadly, and then walked off.

-

Glynis hummed to herself as she entered the bathroom. She pulled a hairbrush out of her bag and stood infront of the mirror.

She could hear someone being sick in the middle stall, and was tempted to ask if they were okay. She did nothing, and continued to brush her hair.

A few minutes later, there was a flush and Joan walked out of the stall, and took a sip from her bottle of water. She was about to chew some gum when she noticed Glynis.

"Joan," Glynis began, wondering what to say. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Joan nodded, putting the bottle away and washing her hands. "Well, not fine. Getting over the flu."

"Luke is worried about you," Glynis told her. "And so am I."

"You're worried about me?" Joan laughed. "That's sweet, but I'm okay. I don't need Luke telling all his friends I'm sick."

"Listen to me, I know we're not great friends or anything, but I do care when someone else is ill, or making themselves ill," The taller girl told her, moving closer. "Maybe you should talk to someone."

"I have the flu," Joan repeated, shaking her head. "It's none of your business, Glynis. But I really do have the flu."

"Right," Glynis nodded, smiling. "Okay, well, I believe you then." And with that, she walked off, leaving Joan to freshen up.

-

He was sat under a tree, reading a book when he noticed he wasn't alone. He looked up to see Glynis standing infront of him – looking very, very attractive, as she did, now. She looked deadly serious, and paler than usual. "Luke."

"Glynis," Luke nodded, with a small smile. Things were kind of strained at the moment.

"Can we talk?" She asked, sitting down beside him.

"Sure..." he said. "I guess. What's up?"

"You're worried about Joan, aren't you?" Glynis asked. "I saw you, you couldn't concentrate in class which means you are extremely worried."

"Yeah, my sister has the flu, and I'm just worried about her," he replied, closing his book. "Why?"

"I'm kind of worried too," she admitted. "Are you sure it's the flu?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning.

"I was just in the bathroom, brushing my hair because I managed to get gum in it," she began, fiddling with her hair. "And Joan was in there, being sick."

"Again? I told her she should stay home," he sighed. "Thanks for telling me. I'll chain her to the couch if I need to, tomorrow."

"But...I've been around people with illnesses," Glynis told him. "My cousin was bulimic. And the last few days, I've seen it in Joan. I think she has a problem."

"Joan is really smart..."

"I don't think it has anything to do with how smart you are, Luke. I think you know that too. Maybe you've been thinking the same, and you just don't want to admit it," she shrugged.

"Joan is not bulimic. That's crazy," Luke said, laughing, but angrily. "She's perfect and she's always been fairly happy with herself. Never insecure."

"I'm just saying," she paused. "I'm just saying, be careful. Watch out. Because if she is, she needs help."

"I appreciate the warnings, Glynis, I know you mean well," he said, standing up. "But I think I know my sister better than you do."

And he left her there, sitting under the tree, thinking, and hoping that he was right.


	4. Four

"Luke, get your butt out of bed we're going to be late!" Joan yelled up the stairs to her brother. She returned to the kitchen and sat back down, taking a sip of her juice. "He never sleeps in late."

"Maybe he got your bug," Will shrugged. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Good," Joan nodded. "Real good."

"I'm glad," he smiled, patting her hand. "You're finished, go upstairs and make sure Luke is awake."

"Okay," she sighed. Upstairs, she reached the door to Luke's room. "Luke. Get up. Luke!" She called again, this time knocking. She growled, and slowly opened the door, crossing her fingers that he wasn't ill or naked or something. "Hey Luke, wake up."

There was a groan, and then he sat up, yawning. "Joan?" He squinted, reaching for his glasses. "What..."

"You overslept. You have about fifteen minutes to get washed, dressed and have breakfast," She replied, from the doorway.

Luke sighed and shot out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?"

"I tried," She said, "I called up loads of times. Even banged on your door about twenty minutes ago when I got up."

"Oh. Well you should have come in earlier," he put on his glasses and began to pick out his clothes. "Never mind..."

"You never oversleep," She frowned. "It's very odd for you."

"I couldn't get to sleep last night, I kept thinking and worrying," he admitted.

"About what?" She asked, but Luke just looked at her sadly. "About me?"

He gazed at her for a moment, and then motioned for her to leave. "Can you go, I need to get ready."

"Gladly," Joan replied. "Oh and Luke, don't worry about me. I'm feeling much, much better."

"Weird flu you've had. You kind of missed out on most of the symptoms," he mumbled.

She smiled, and nodded, "Lucky. Well, not lucky. I was still really sick. And the sore throat and aches and pains. I'll see you downstairs."

She closed the door behind her, and Luke smiled and shook his head, starting to get dressed. She was bright and perky today, back to her usual self. "Glynis, you are so wrong."

-

"Miss Girardi, would you care to contribute to this conversation? Miss Girardi? Joan? Off in a dream world," The Chemistry teacher said, shaking her head. "Okay, Mr Girardi?"

"I know this one..." Luke began. He knew the answer - it was easy. He just couldn't focus.

There was a loud bang, and he turned his head to see his sister as she fell backwards, off of her stool, and on to the floor.

He stood up immediately, rushing over to her side before even Adam, who was sat next to her, could do anything. "Joan? Joan?"

-

She was lying on the floor with loads of people gathered around her, and she was trying to swat them away as they attempted to help her. "I'm fine, get off of me."

Luke was one of those people. "Joan!"

"I'm fine, I fell off of my seat. Happens all the time," she groaned. "So embarrasing. I was day dreaming, and then...wham, I hit the floor."

"She's had the flu," Luke informed the teacher.

She looked up and she could see fear in his eyes. Glynis and the teacher were beside him, and Adam was off to the corner. Grace was absent again. They were all looking down at her worriedly, talking all at once. The teacher disappeared for a minute, and then returned. "Okay, Luke, why don't you take your sister to the nurse?"

Luke nodded and he and Adam helped her up. "Can I go too?" Rove asked.

The teacher shook her head, "No, just let Luke take care of it. Now, everyone get back to your seats."

-

"Joan, I'm really worried about you," Luke told her, pacing around the room. He finally sat down in the rooms only chair. "You didn't just fall off your chair. You feinted. Didn't you?"

"Symptom of the flu maybe," she shrugged, as she lay on the bed. "It's the weekend tomorrow. I'll take it easy, stay in the house."

"You should be a lot better by now. I was," he said, scratching his head. "It's a good job mom is off work today or they would have called her."

"Thanks for telling them not to," She smiled. "I don't know how you convinced them, but..."

"When we get home, you're going straight to bed," He commanded, resembling Colonel Jack O'Neill, US Air Force, for a second. She laughed, she loved that t.v show, and so did he. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"The nurse said you should stay here until 3. I'll come and get you then. Just rest, and be glad they aren't taking you to the hospital," he said.

"Well I'm not speaking a weird language, I don't think I'm Catwoman and I can still get my words out right. So I don't think I was damaged during my trip to the ground."

Luke laughed, grabbed his backpack, and left her to rest. "Later."

-

Luke climbed up the stairs, and went in to Joan's room to collect all the glasses from her room. She'd been gathering quite a collection in there, and it included several mugs of half-drank herbal tea, and several empty bowls which once contained popcorn.

She was in the bath, so he knew it was safe to enter. He loaded up the glasses and dishes on to the tray he'd brought up the day before, and headed out of the room. He passed the bathroom, and shook his head. The door was slightly open. He couldn't see anything, thank god, but that wasn't the point. "Joan, could you please close the door in future? No one wants to see..." He began, trailing off as he caught sound of the sound of his sister trying to stop herself being sick. He waited there a few minutes, shaking his head, and thinking.

He walked off with his tray, and went downstairs.

When she appeared twenty minutes later, in her pyjamas and dressing gown, he was waiting for her on the couch. The t.v. was off, and the expression on his face was deadly serious. "What's up?"

"Feel better, after your bath?" He asked.

"Yep," she smiled, sitting down in the chair. "Much better, thank you."

"I didn't want to believe her, Joan," he said after a moment's silence. "I really didn't."

"Who? What? Where? Why?"

"Glynis warned me. Told me I knew she was right, and that I just didn't want to believe it," Luke was entering babble teritory now.

"Oh, so this is about Glynis. Spill it...you guys still in love or something?" Joan blinked.

"No, it isn't about Glynis. Not really. It's about you."

"Why are you guys fighting over me?" She asked, faking confusion.

"She came to visit me after she ran in to you in the bathroom the other day. Remember?" He said, still looking at her intensely.

"Yeah. Weird conversation we had."

"Yeah, ours was too," she nodded.

"She told me she was worried about you."

"I know. She told me that too. I'm worried about her...maybe she should talk to someone..."

"I snapped at her. I said, no way. I told her she was crazy. She was making things up, she was wrong," he paused. "But then last night, I was lying there, worrying. For weeks now, I've been worrying. I've been taking care of you. And I realised, just now, really, that you don't have the flu. You've been lying to me, deceiving me."

"What are you..." she began, standing up.

"You weren't in the bath Joan, you were throwing up again," he blurted, waving his arms around like a mad man.

"Okay, fine. Then I had a bath. What's the big deal?" She shrugged.

"The big deal is that you're ill, and I want to help you. How can I help you?"

"You can leave me alone!" Joan snapped, taking a couple of steps back.

"No. I can't do that, you are my sister."

"Yeah, I am."

"You don't have the flu. I think I knew it all along, really. Just couldn't accept it, didn't want to," he sighed, scratching his head.

"I'm nearly better, it's nearly gone. Maybe it isn't the flu, just a bug. I don't know..."

"It's not a bug, and it's not the flu, damn it. Admit it," he was shouting now, although he really didn't want to be.

"Admit what?"

"That you have a problem!"

"You have the problem," she cried.

"I want to help you. Just admit it, admit that you're bulimic and let me know how I can help you," he pleaded, moving toward her.

"I'm not!"

"Joanie, I'm not an idiot. I know all about illnesses - eating disorders, I know all this kind of stuff. And you are suffering from bulimia. I can see it, and so can even Glynis!" He said, more gently now. She could see that same fear in his eyes again, but it was so much greater now.

"No!"

"Yes you are." He repeated.

"No...I'm not...I'm not..." she cried, as he put his hand on her forearm.

"Why are you doing this? You're so pretty, so thin. You're so perfect. I don't get it. I want to understand."

"I...I...leave me alone!" She yelled, moving his hand off of her.

She stood there for a minute, and then pushed him, and ran up the stairs.

-

She came back downstairs, later, eyes bright red from crying. She sat down beside him on the sofa, turning to face him. "Luke, I have a problem. Please help me."

"I want to. I will," Luke nodded.

"I just got so stressed out, you know, and...I had to be perfect. I knew what I was doing, Luke. I know what I'm doing. And the thing is, I can't stop. I know what I'm doing and I can't stop," she sniffed.

"Oh god, Joan. I'm so sorry. I'm always here for you," he told her gently, pulling her in to a hug.

"I know," she said, breaking down again.

"Was someone picking on you?" He asked, a couple of minutes later.

"No...yeah...a couple of girls at school, and just comments, and..."

"Like 'you could eat for the Olympics?'" He felt awful now.

"Yeah, maybe. But it wasn't your fault. That was one instance. But people kept on at me. At first I ignored it, but it got to a point where I couldn't. One day, I...but there were so many things that I don't know how to explain. I can't really tell you why...just that I'm really sorry that I lied to you like that, and that I really want your help. I don't know how or why this whole thing...it just did," she said, sitting up and wiping her eyes with her hands.

"I'm here," he said, taking hold of her hand.

"What do we do?"

"Tell mom and dad?" He suggested. The truth was, he didn't really know what to do. He considered calling up Glynis. She seemed to know more about this kind of thing than him. He'd only read about all these illnesses, never actually delt with one before.

"We can't! No! Please. I mean, I've been acting weird, and I think if I tell them, they might send me away or something."

"I won't tell them..." he sighed.

"You won't?"

"If you promise me to speak to someone. Get help, and I will be there for you," he finished his sentence, and looked her in the eyes. She saw his desperation, and nodded.

"I promise."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Good," he smiled.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she smiled, taking a tissue from the box on the coffee table. "Thank you so much."

"Anything for you," he nodded. "We'll go and see Glynis tomorrow. Her cousin had the same thing, and she might know of someone who can help you."

"Okay," she agreed. "You're a great little brother, you know."

"I know. I rock."

* * *

Okay that's the last chapter for a little while...other stuff to do, other fics to write! But it will be back soon - a couple of weeks. Please visit my archive at http:www.bringethiton.tk and post your work.


	5. Five

Authors Notes: Sorry for that short break, but I had to work on my Stargate SG-1 fan fiction, including a series about Michael Welch (Luke's) character of the young clone of Colonel Jack O'Neill. The series is called Dazed and Confused, for anyone who's interested. I know there are a lot of people who are fans of both shows.

I mentioned his Stargate character in the last chapter, and the show is discussed in detail in this fic. The episode they are talking about is the very famous "Heroes" so watch out for spoilers. As this fic is set in 2003, and Michael was in Stargate in 2003, I've chosen Heroes as it was the same year.

Oh, and I like The O.C. so sorry about them hating it! Right, that's all the trivia etc out of the way. Enjoy!!

* * *

That night at dinner, Luke sat beside his sister, keeping a close eye on her food intake. Their parents were too busy having a heated discussion with Kevin to notice.

"That's enough," Helen sighed, playing Peacekeeper for a minute. "Let's not talk about this now."

"Fine," Will nodded, turning his attention to his meal. "Nice chicken. Very nice."

"Yes," Joan agreed, with a small smile. "Very good. Tasty, even."

"Thank you," Helen nodded, cheering up. "So, Luke, Joan, how was your day?"

"Uneventful," Joan shrugged. "Right Luke?"

"Yep," he nodded, looking down at his plate. He couldn't look at his Mom or especially his Dad while he lied, he'd blurt the truth out instantly. "So how was that...thing?"

"I met up with an old friend," Helen smiled. "It was nice. I missed Dana a lot. We had lunch and went for a swim at her health club."

"Good," Joan nodded, her plate now empty. "May I be excused?" Helen nodded, and Joan took her plate in to the kitchen.

"Me too?" Luke requested, although he hadn't finished. He was still a little hungry, but his sister was more important, so he picked up his plate and took it in to the kitchen. He emptied the contents in to the bin and then handed it to her, to put in the dishwasher. "That went surprisingly well."

"I have homework," Joan said, closing the dishwasher and moving toward the door. Luke stepped infront of her, blocking the way.

"No, you don't," he said firmly. He wasn't going to let her go upstairs and do what she was planning to do. "Joan, I'm helping you, remember?" He put a hand on her arm, and dragged her in to the living room. She sat down on the couch and sighed.

He took the chair and flicked on the t.v. "We'll talk with Glynis tomorrow and find out who you can speak to."

"Will you talk to her with me?" Joan pleaded.

"Of course," he nodded, smiling slightly. "I'm going to help you. I promise you."

"Help you with what?" Kevin asked as he entered the living room. He took the remote from the table and turned the channel over. "Sorry Joan, but I'm not watching The O.C. tonight. I don't care how hot Mischa Barton is, it isn't enough to make me watch it."

"Kevin!" Joan moaned. "It's Stargate night. I thought you actually liked that?"

"I forgot Luke got you in to that. The only decent show you like," he smiled, turning it back on to the original channel. "There. It isn't starting for like fifteen minutes yet though."

"You watch rubbish, not me!" She growled, throwing a cushion at him. "The O.C. rocks."

"If you're sixteen, it probably does," he said. "So what's Luke helping you with?"

"Homework," Luke replied, quickly. "She's struggling with some AP Chem work."

"If you're struggling, should you be in AP?" Kevin frowned.

"It's only one project," she replied sharply. "There's no way I'm leaving, Adam is in there with me. And Grace. Besides, I rock at Chem generally."

"Fine."

"Dad!" Luke yelled, and Will appeared in the living room, and took his place on the couch beside Joan. "I warn you, rumour is someone dies tonight. And the most likely canditate is either Samantha Carter or Janet Frasier."

"No!" Will gasped, causing the kids to laugh. "They can't kill off that sweetie doctor. And Sam is just so cool! They have four lead guys and two women. Why can't it be one of the guys who goes?"

"Because they already killed Daniel and brought him back. They can't kill Jack, he's the lead, and Teal'c is like indestructable. Hammond never leaves the base to get killed," Luke explained. "The beauty of sci-fi is that if you get killed, you'll probably come back. So maybe Janet will be back next season, like Daniel."

"Doubt it. There would be no risk if they did that every time," Kevin pointed out.

Will sighed.

-

"Joan?" Luke said, frowning. "Joan? Are you crying?"

"It's just...she died saving his life...she was so beautiful!" She sniffed. "She was helping that poor soldier and she got shot...poor Janet. She was so nice, and now her adopted daughter has lost another mom. Poor Cassie!"

"It's only tv, Joan," Luke reminded her, chucking her a box of tissues. "It's not real. Teryl Rothery is very much alive."

"I know..." she sniffed. "But it's so sad!"

"I guess you're just emotional anyway," He said.

"Why would she be emotional anyway?" W ill asked, as he surfed through the channels, looking for anything but The O.C.

"Umm..." Luke began, mentally yelling at himself for letting it slip. Now he'd blown it.

"Dad, you really don't want to know. Luke didn't want to know either, he just saw me taking my special painkillers," Joan replied calmly. She blushed slightly, and looked down at her feet. Luke watched her, amazed. She was such a great actress. He had almost believed that.

"Oh, I see," Will nodded. "Let me know if you want your hot water bottle warmed up."

"Will do," She nodded. "Thanks."

She then smiled and stood up, placing a hand on her stomach, and went off upstairs. Luke sighed loudly, and announced that he had homework he needed to do. Will and Kevin nodded and tuned in to sports and Luke made his way up the stairs.

He found Joan in her room, stretched out on the bed. She had the pillow over her head. He perched on the edge and removed the pillow, throwing it on to the end. "Joan."

"Hey," she said glumly.

"Very convincing," he smiled. "I almost bought it. Dad definitely did. Good one. I'm sorry I nearly blew it."

"Don't sweat it, little bro," She said. "That excuse has gotten me out of class, housework and even visiting the grandparents on one occasion. Although, usually it's actually the truth." She was slightly embarrased to be talking about **that** with her brother, but oh well. She could recall worse conversations, like the one where he'd asked if she was pregnant. "I might be in trouble when I get it in a couple of weeks though."

"Actually," he began, mumbling. He looked away, very uncomfortable. "I don't think you will...not for a while. I'm not sure but I think it stops when you're ill like this. You can ask Glynis."

"No way," Joan exclaimed. "Dad won't even remember by then, I'm sure. Where's Mom? She's awfully quiet recently. And she's never around much."

"I think she's on the phone still," Luke shrugged, his gaze returning to his sister. "To Dana I guess."

"I never liked Dana. She's very odd," Joan recalled. "You haven't met her, have you?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh when you were about four or five she came to the house," she said. "And I think you may have barfed on her shoes. May have been Kevin, but I'm fairly sure it was you."

"Oh dear..." Luke groaned. "Remind me to be out if she drops by."

"Will do. Now, if you don't mind, I have some music to listen to," she told him, hinting that he should leave her alone.

"I'll be next door," he warned her. "Beware."

"Okay," she nodded. "As long as you aren't here."

-

Luke was having a very nice dream where he was Jack O'Neill. He was trapped in a cave, with Doctor Frasier and Major Carter. There was no way out of this, or so they thought, so they decided to spend their last time having some naughty fun.

That 'sweetie' Janet was not as innocent as she looked. And as for Sam, well, she had a lovely figure under those fatigues...

Sadly, he woke up half way through. He lay there for a few minutes, before getting up, putting on his slippers, and creeping downstairs to get a drink.

He was pouring himself a glass of water when he realised the downstairs bathroom light was on. He frowned, and sat down at the table, assuming it was his mom or dad.

He heard a familiar sound and screwed his eyes shut, praying he was still dreaming. He opened his eyes again and pinched himself, several times. He was definitely awake.

He sighed, and sat there for a minute, thinking.

Then, he stood up and went down the hall. He knocked on the bathroom door. "Joan?" He called. "Who's in there? It's you isn't it Joan? Joan?" He called, still knocking. "If you don't answer me I'm opening the door, whoever is in there." There was no answer, so he did exactly what he said he'd do. He opened the door and found his sister hunched over the toilet.

He moved forward and pulled her hair out of her face. He fell to his knees beside her, putting an arm around her. "God, Joan..." he said. "Joan."

"I'm sorry," she cried, looking up at him. "I'm so sorry."

She could see the disappointment in his eyes, the tears welling up, and she looked away. She couldn't take it.

"Joan..."

"I don't deserve your help. You've been so good to me," she croaked. "And I've just used you and lied to you. Lied and lied and lied. I don't deserve your help!" She wiped her mouth. "I'm so sorry Luke."

"Don't ever think that I will give up on you! Don't ever think you deserve to be given up on!" He snapped. "You're my sister, and I will always help you out, no matter what you do, I will be there for you. You want help. You want to stop, I know that Joan. I believe you. But I know it's not that easy. I realise that you're going to slip up along the way, and that it's going to be a long road until you're well again. But you will get better. I will make sure of it. I know it's going to be very difficult. But I'm here."

Joan just sat there, looking at him, amazed at her brothers warmth and determination. He helped her up, and took her in to the kitchen. He sat her down and left her for a minute, disappearing back in to the bathroom. A minute later, he was back, and he poured her a drink of water. "Drink it slowly."

He sat down beside her, a hand on her shoulder. She took small sips, and then turned to face him. "We'll talk to Glynis first thing tomorrow."

"Okay," he nodded. "You're going to be okay, Joanie."

"It doesn't feel that way," she said, her lip quivering. She was about to start crying again. Luke sighed and pulled her in to a bear hug. "Why did this happen? Why? I don't understand why this would happen. What good comes from me being bulimic?"

Luke pulled back, and frowned. "I don't know. If I was a priest, I'd probably tell you that there is a reason for everything, and that it might not be clear now, but one day it will be. But, I'm not a priest and I don't think I can subscribe to that. But maybe its right."

"Thanks," she nodded, standing up. "We should go back to bed."

"Yes, we should. You go on up," he told her, "I'll turn of the lights."

"Night."

"Night."

-

"Good morning," Luke said brightly, as he entered his sister's room and opened the curtains, letting the morning light into her room. She groaned and turned over.

"Luuke!" She growled.

"Up," he told her, pulling the covers off of her, like Lois had done to her kids on Malcolm In The Middle. Surprisingly, it actually worked in reality. Joan stood up and squinted, her eyes adjusting to the light. "Good. Get dressed," he told her firmly. "I'll be in my room. We're going for breakfast in ten minutes so hurry up."

"Okay," She yawned. "That isn't much time though. Can't you just go and I'll join you when I'm ready?"

"No. As long as you're upstairs, I'm up here too," he shook his head, and she gave in.

"Fine," she said as she opened her closet doors. "Go and play on your computer. I'll be out in a minute." Luke was halfway out the door when she called after him, "Oh, I need a shower."

"No you don't," he replied. "You have these great new things called Impulse wipes that will suffice. You can shower when you get home."

"If I smell it's soooo your fault," Joan moaned, closing the door on him. She returned to her closet and picked out a fairly baggy outfit.

She appeared in the doorway to Luke's room ten minutes later, clad in a longish pink t-shirt that was now several sizes too big for her (that used to fit perfectly,) and jeans. Not hipster jeans, just jeans, with a belt to keep them from falling off of her tiny figure.

Luke looked her up and down, and smiled, but he was actually shocked at how lose her old clothes looked. He didn't say anything, just stood up and followed her downstairs.

They entered the kitchen to find Kevin was already long gone. Will and Helen were sat at the table, he was reading the newspaper as usual, and she was drinking her orange juice.

Joan went to get her breakfast, but Luke stopped her. "Sit down," he told her. "I'll get it." Will was engrossed in the paper, but Helen frowned. "Joan isn't feeling at her best. You know, girl stuff..." Luke explained as he took two bowls from the cupboard.

Joan sat down opposite her mom and smiled feintly. Luke came over with two bowls of cheerios and set one down in front of his sister. He then sat down next to her and made a start on his, watching her closely.

Once she'd finished, he took their bowls and put them in to the dishwasher. Not wanting to leave any time for her to dash to the bathroom, he took her messenger bag from the closet and handed it to her, and then put his own over his shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

Okay not much of an ending but there is a new ep of Stargate on very soon, and, well, I was going to write the scene with Glynis etc in this chapter, but Ive decided to split it in to two. So big scene next chapter. Review please, it makes me write faster.


End file.
